Related Tags

Why native video will transform advertising & reduce adblocker usage

25 years ago, we signed up to one of the greatest deals in history. We accepted that, in order to receive unlimited access to the weird and wonderful world of the internet, we would see ads alongside our content.

This exchange is how all of that well-loved cat content is paid for - and underpins the entire web.

The problem? Users weren’t ready for the sheer volume of ads they would see. And the result is a growing use of adblockers over the past few years—users fighting back after a bad experience of internet ads.

But, rather than battle the blockers, we need to tackle the problem at its root: intrusive and annoying ads. We need to give users a better experience. Native video does just this. As one of the most engaging advertising formats out there, native video is transforming how people experience ads online - let me tell you why:

1. Native video is captivating

Native video supports the consumer journey by giving them an experience. It lets the advertiser participate in - rather than compete with - their experience on a site.

We visit sites because we’re interested in its content, so why not tailor the content of the advert to match the website? By adapting the advert’s message in this way, it’ll captivate the user and most importantly give them more of what they came for.

2. It builds brands

Have you ever cried at a banner ad? Probably not, but what about a video ad? More likely. The combination of sound and motion make an incredibly powerful tool for advertisers to build their brands.

Let’s take the John Lewis Christmas ad, for example: every year its release is hotly-anticipated and then it’s a source of conversation for weeks afterward - it feeds the customer experience and impression of the brand. Advertisers must renew their focus on video ads, or we risk losing a whole generation to ad-blindness from an overload of dull, intrusive ads.

3. It enables cohesive storytelling

As an industry, we spend far too much time focusing on the negative: walled gardens, fraud, issues around transparency…the list goes on. But really, we need to shift the focus to what we have achieved.

We work with some of the most cutting-edge technology, giving us the power to curate a story like never before. Programmatic lets you target the right person, at the right time, in the right place. And through native video, we’ll deliver the right message in the right format.

4. Native video fosters relevancy for the consumer

Native video is refreshing in that it takes a decisive step away from those random, repetitive ads that follow you around the internet. There’s nothing worse than having already purchased something, to be chased across the internet with ads for it for the next month.

Native video matches the look and feel of a website, fostering relevancy and meaning that banner ads simply can’t rival.

5. It gives a better user experience than pre-roll

Pre-roll tends to be a negative and frustrating experience, where the user is served a 30 second ad before 15 seconds of content. There may be a time and a place for pre-roll, but the time and place for native is much more here and now. Not only is native more flexible and impactful than pre-roll, it’s cheaper too.

6. It offers flexible formats

Creative fluidity has been predicted as key for 2018, and native video really taps into this trend. The ability to be flexible with the wording, the colour palette, the font and style of the ad means you suit the site and the user. And this both improves the user’s experience of the site – and sometimes the site itself. In turn, this makes the user much more likely to return to that site—maximising the value of that website.

7. It enhances the consumer experience

Ultimately, users prefer sites without intrusive adverts—a fact that is well-appreciated by advertisers. The publishers I work with are frustrated by having to run bigger and brighter banner ads, more and more frequently—forcing the user to engage with them, whether they want to or not.

But instead of focussing on the ad itself, we should be worry about its impact upon the user. The fundamental goal of any company is to sell something that will make a consumer’s life better. Native video connects with the consumer, truly delivering this goal.

Advertising shouldn’t be seen as a necessary evil, it should be relevant, helpful and unobtrusive, adding to the experience and value of a website. We need to focus our efforts on raising the quality of our advertising – and native video is the perfect format to deliver this.

So let’s ensure 2018 is the year that advertisers make native video an integral part of the programmatic strategy.

You might be interested in

Comments (1)

Matt Lovell, Head of Customer Data, Insight & Analytics at Eurostar International Ltd.

Interesting article but I'm not sure I agree. Firstly, for most customers, their frustration with ads is less around the volume and more around the inconvenience with them often obstructing their journey online (be that through delaying the load times of sites, causing content to be difficult to read or simply being irrelevant and garish) while secondly, I don't really see how the suggestion that native video advertising will reduce ad blocking will come to light as it is only ever likely to be a small proportion of online 'display' advertising and only relevant to certain types of consumers in certain situations. I'd also contest the suggestion that 'Programmatic lets you target the right person, at the right time, in the right place' as while it has the potential to do that, most campaigns are still ridiculously broad brush meaning that very few campaigns are actually truly relevant to the end consumer.

Enjoying this article?

Get more just like this, delivered to your inbox.

Keep up to date with the latest analysis, inspiration and learning from the Econsultancy blog with our free Digital Pulse newsletter. You will receive a hand-picked digest of the latest and greatest articles, as well as snippets of new market data, best practice guides and trends research.